The Best Place To Find School Furniture Suppliers

Buying furniture for school, or home, is a process that takes a lot of research and patience. You might want to buy school furniture for a new classroom, for use with children at home or for a local club. Furniture rated for use in school should normally come with better standards and be capable of sustaining a lot of hard use. Most of us, at school or at home are in times of recession and so getting the best deal on things is an absolute must - for some of us our jobs literally depend upon it.

In this article we are going to take a look a what school furniture supplies you might want to buy, when to buy them and where to buy them from, in order to try and get you the cheapest price and the best value for money. If you like this article then feel free to check out other articles on similar topics such as where to buy school uniforms, cheap playground equipment, nursery school equipment and school sports equipment.

Where to buy school furniture supplies?

Where you buy your school furniture from is probably the most important point in buying at a good price. Buying from a local mom and pop store is the most ethical towards supporting the local economy, but probably wont give you the best price. Buying from a local big store, such as a Staples, will give you better prices as well as offering delivery for large orders.

Buying school furniture online could give you the cheapest prices of all. Buying online may also give you the greatest choice with the downside of not being able to inspect the product before you buy unless it is from a known brand. It will also require delivery but that should be similar or even cheaper to delivery from a store in town.

What furniture you should buy

School furniture really revolves around desks, chairs, tables, bookcases and cabinets. To decide what school furniture you want to buy you need to figure out what you are going to use the equipment for. If you want something highly configurable then modular table sets are probably best. If you know you are going to have a fixed room layout then buying traditional square tables could be more suitable. You also need to know the size (and age) of the potential users of the furniture in order to get the correct size - a good reason to check out the furniture beforehand.

Second hand vs. new school furniture

School furniture is usually built to last quite a while, so buying second hand is a good option - particularly for use at home. The furniture may look a little tatty but a coat of paint and a bit of sandpaper can go a long way. I once bought thirty chairs from a school that looked a little tatty, but only cost a couple of dollars per piece. They were perfect for the one off family gathering I had and have been lent out to other people numerous times since. Buying second hand school furniture can give the best deal of all, particularly if you are willing to do a little bit of work to smarten the chairs and tables up.

When you should buy your school furniture supplies

There are best times of the year to buy school furniture. For schools it is probably left till the long summer break as it enables you to change out equipment without interruption, and endangering, school pupils. For anyone else buying new school furniture then buying when the equipment is on sale is the best time to get the best value.

Second hand prices will probably be the least just as schools are selling off their old furniture. That will be the best time to buy as supply may be a little more sporadic throughout the rest of the year. It will also give you, and your children, to clean up the used furniture.

Online auction sites

Online auction sites can be a good way to acquire second hand school furniture, especially if you don't know any schools selling off their own old stock. Their are specialist resellers who sell stock throughout the year and may even offer reconditioned equipment for you to buy. This can be a great option even though it might not offer as cheap a price as buying from the school direct. Searching sites like eBay for school furniture does give a lot of results from both small business resellers and schools selling furniture in job lots.

Group buying

If you know of several people, either in your family or friend or a local group, who want school furniture you might try buying as a group. You can buy new furniture in bulk to give you a discount - even from stores like Staples. You might also be able to club together to buy a larger better value lot from eBay, which might otherwise have been too much equipment for a single person to handle.

Summary

The best ways to buy school furniture are:

Decide what you really need to buy.

Consider the age and size of the users.

Consider buying in groups for larger discounts.

Buying online might be cheaper - but beware not seeing the product beforehand to ensure quality and safety certificates.

Buying second hand and reconditioning might be the cheapest option.

If you don’t want the hassle of reconditioning, buying from online resellers may offer pre-reconditioned furniture for only slightly more.

Conclusion

Buying furniture for school, home or club is all about planning and choosing the right time to buy. By following these tips they should help you get the best value for money when buying your new (or old or reconditioned) furniture.

Where do you buy your school furniture? Do you buy from a local store or buy it online? Do you reconditioned furniture yourself? Do you allow your children to paint it and make it their own? Feel free to leave a comment below, and if you aren't already a member of InfoBarrel you can join by using the link at the top of the page.